As we get ready for the big final match of the WTC between Australia and India, let’s look back at some really exciting moments from the past two years.
We recently talked about the top five players who scored the most runs in the championship. Now, let’s see who the top bowlers are. Batsmen are important for winning games, but it’s often the bowlers who make the difference in winning tournaments like this.
Throughout the championship, there have been some amazing bowling performances. Let’s take a look at the top five bowling displays in WTC.
These are the 5 best bowling performances during the WTC 2021 to 2023:
5. Keshav Maharaj – 7/32 vs Bangladesh (Durban, 2022)
Keshav Maharaj got 7 wickets really quickly in a cricket match against Bangladesh. It was in April 2022 in Durban. It’s a big deal because no bowler has done this well in their first 60 balls of a Test match since 2002. South Africa won the match big time, beating Bangladesh by 220 runs. Maharaj has gotten 5 wickets in a match 8 times before. And in the next game in Port Elizabeth, he got 7 wickets again.
4. Matt Henry – 7/23 vs South Africa (Christchurch, 2022)
The first bowler to be mentioned here is Matt Henry from New Zealand. He played a big part in beating the South African cricket team in the first Test match in Christchurch. The weather and pitch conditions were good for bowling, and Henry took full advantage of it. He managed to get 7 South African players out during the match, which helped New Zealand win easily. Not only that, he also scored 58 runs when New Zealand batted, and took 2 more wickets when South Africa batted again. Thanks to Henry’s great performance, New Zealand won the match by a huge margin of 276 runs. This was New Zealand’s 5th Test match win against South Africa, and the first since 2004. Henry played a special role in making this victory possible.
3. Nathan Lyon – 8/64 vs India (Indore, 2023)
Nathan Lyon took the most wickets in the cricket competition from 2021 to 2023. He got 83 players out. One of his best performances was when he helped Australia win a match against India in 2022/23.
India batted first but only scored 109 runs. Lyon got 3 players out during this time. Then, when Australia batted, Lyon helped them get a lead of nearly 90 runs. Later, when India batted again, Lyon bowled incredibly well, getting 8 Indian players out. This made it easier for Australia to chase a small target of 76 runs, which they did with 8 wickets still left.
2. Sajid Khan – 8/42 vs Bangladesh (Dhaka, 2021)
Sajid Khan, the Pakistani spinner, bowled really well in a cricket match against Bangladesh in Dhaka. Even though there was a lot of rain and problems with the light, the match still happened. They could only play for 63 overs in the first three days, and no team finished batting even once.
But then, the weather cleared up, and they played without many interruptions for the next two days. Pakistan batted first and scored 300 runs. Bangladesh didn’t do so well in both their turns to bat. Sajid Khan played a big part in this. In the first innings, he took 8 wickets for only 42 runs, getting Bangladesh all out for just 87 runs. Then, when Bangladesh had to bat again, they only scored 205 runs before getting all out again, with Sajid Khan taking more wickets.
Because of this, Pakistan won the match, even though it seemed unlikely at some points.
1. Ajaz Patel – 10/119 vs India (Mumbai, 2021)
Ajaz Patel did something amazing in a cricket match against India at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. He took 10 wickets in one innings, which is very rare and special. It was even more special for him because he was born in Mumbai but moved to New Zealand for better opportunities.
His hard work paid off because he became New Zealand’s top spinner, even though there were other players with more experience. In the first game, things didn’t go so well, and it ended in a draw. But in the second game in Mumbai, Ajaz was incredible. He kept getting Indian players out, ending up with a record-breaking 10 wickets for just 119 runs. Overall, he got 14 wickets in the match, but unfortunately, his team still lost by a big margin of 372 runs.
Before Ajaz Patel, only two other players, Anil Kumble and Jim Laker, had taken all 10 wickets in one innings. This achievement by Ajaz is considered one of the best performances in the World Test Championship.
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